How do I make my face stop burning?
April 12, 2017 2:13 PM   Subscribe

I put on some old Halloween make up to get a laugh out of my 4 year old nephew. Within minutes I felt like my skin was burning. I've washed all the make up off as gently as possible. Now my entire face is bright red. What's the best thing to do now to give my skin some relief, and not look like I got locked in a tanning booth?
posted by blackzinfandel to Health & Fitness (10 answers total) 3 users marked this as a favorite
 
Benadryl - take a pill, and if you have liquid Benadryl or liquigels, put the liquid stuff on your face, as well.

And then read the ingredients list and pay attention to reactions from the chemicals in that product in the future. Coconut oil and lanolin, which are both fairly common in cosmetics, both do this to my face.
posted by croutonsupafreak at 2:17 PM on April 12, 2017 [3 favorites]


If it was oil based used an oil to swab your face. Soap alone won't remove all the oil. Cold cream, coconut oil, olive oil.

If you're having an allergic reaction take Benadryl or carefully apply Benadryl cream.
posted by Medieval Maven at 2:29 PM on April 12, 2017 [2 favorites]


Do not double up on Benadryl products. Do not use both the pills and the cream or as mentioned above.
posted by Medieval Maven at 2:30 PM on April 12, 2017 [9 favorites]


Any idea what the pigments or binders were?

I would put some Burt's Bees Almond Milk Hand Cream on your face to stop the itching and seal in moisture as non-invasively as possible. About ten bucks and any local drug store.
posted by effluvia at 2:36 PM on April 12, 2017 [1 favorite]


Response by poster: Here are the ingredients:

Glycerin, sorbitan laurate, stearic acid, cetyl alcohol, phenoxyethanol, glyceryl stearate, peg-100 stearate, acrylates copolymer, triethanolamine, potassium sorbate, sodium benzoate, tin oxide, tocopherol, mica, titanium dioxide. Red lake 6, 7, 27. Yellow lake 5, 6, 10. Blue lake 1.
posted by blackzinfandel at 3:03 PM on April 12, 2017


Best answer: Toxicologist here who specializes in skin irritation/sensitization:

It's difficult to know what kind of reaction this is without an inspection, but it's much more likely to be an irritant response than an allergic/sensitization response. If this was a water-based paint, stop now: no topical products will do anything to speed up the healing process post-irritation, and they may make things worse. If this was an oil-based paint, as noted above you can take the additional step of gently wiping your face with cold cream or another gentle oil.

A cool, dry compress may give you some immediate relief from the discomfort. Applying warm/hot compresses may make your face feel and look worse.

Benadryl will only help if it's an allergic/sensitization response, but since benadryl is fairly benign you may want to go ahead and take a dose. I advise against applying topical antihistamines to your face in a context like this unless advised to do so by a doctor.

Feel better!
posted by late afternoon dreaming hotel at 3:04 PM on April 12, 2017 [27 favorites]


The pigments listed are common in cosmetic applications rather than pigments for artist/painting application only.

I have had skin irritation reactions from stearic acid, which is used as a skin softener in cosmetic applications.
posted by effluvia at 3:11 PM on April 12, 2017 [1 favorite]


Something similar happened to me recently with a face wash sample. I washed my face and neck carefully with water to remove any remaining face wash, applied a very gentle moisturizer because my face was dry and tight, took a Benadryl, drank a bunch of water, and left it alone. In a few hours, the bright red had faded. I think it was an irritation reaction, not allergic.
posted by Red Desk at 3:13 PM on April 12, 2017 [2 favorites]


Take ibuprofen if it is inflammatory rather than allergic.
posted by decathexis at 4:40 PM on April 12, 2017 [1 favorite]


Cold wet compress and wait.
posted by pintapicasso at 3:24 AM on April 13, 2017 [1 favorite]


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